How to draw Bird’s-eye illustrations for architectural and historical purposes
Castillo de San Marco, Florida. Bird’s-eye view by L. Kenneth Townsend
The US National Park Service is publishing a very detailed paper about drawing large-scale panoramas, also know as bird’s-eye views.
Here is an abstract from the writing authored by Tom Patterns of US NPS:
This paper examines these bird’s-eye views, most of which were produced by nationally renowned contract illustrators in a wide range of artistic styles. Both their traditional and digital work receive attention. A brief historical review looks at the antecedents of current NPS products dating back to the Renaissance. The practical second half of the paper focuses on how the NPS now designs these bird’s-eye views with 3D software, with an eye toward cost savings. Topics include viewing parameters in a 3D scene, preparing DEMs, modeling buildings, designing trees, and creating environmental special effects. Two dozen full-color illustrations supplement the text.
Download the paper ind PDF format at: Birds-eye views
Don’t forget to watch the beautiful gallery full of bird’s-eye view illustrations rendered by several contracted illustrator: Gallery of NPS bird’s-eye views
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